Cyanide is a rapidly acting toxin. It may be responsible for many of the 5,000-10,000 deaths due to smoke inhalation in the United States annually as it is released from the combustion of plastics, wool, and other nitrogen-containing materials. Large amounts of cyanide are used in a variety of industries, and, since it is toxic when inhaled or ingested, it could be used as a terrorist weapon.
A variety of methods exist for measuring cyanide in biological fluids including spectrophotometry, gas chromatography, fluorometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and HPLC-mass spectrometry. Spectrophotometric assays can analyze multiple samples relatively quickly, but lack sensitivity and specificity, while gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and HPLC require expensive equipment and allow only limited sample throughput. Several existing methods require laborious multistep sample pre-treatment are not amenable for use in the field.